James
Martineau,
the son of a textile manufacturer and the brother of Harriet
Martineau, was born in Norwich in
1805. After being educated at the local grammar school and by Dr.
Lant Carpenter in Bristol, he was ordained
in the Unitarian ministry in 1828. Martineau
served as a minister in Dublin and Liverpool.
In 1841 Martineau was appointed professor of moral philosophy at Manchester
New College. While at Manchester he
developed a reputation as a leading religious philosopher after the
publication
of Endeavours
After the Christian Life
(1843). In 1869 he became principal of the college and wrote several
books on religion and philosophy including A
Study of Spinoza
(1882), Types
of Ethical Theory
(1885), A
Study of Religion
(1888) and the Seat
of Authority in Religion
(1890).
In his books Martineau was strong critic of materialism and was one
of the first philosophers to recognize the importance of Darwin's
theory of evolution. James
Martineau
died in 1900.
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